Characterizing typologies of overlapping IPV & VAC in the home: Findings from DRC, Ethiopia, and South Africa

Abstract

Background

While intimate partner violence (IPV) and caregiver-perpetrated violence against children (VAC) are recognized as global epidemics, gaps persist in understanding the nature of co-occurring violence within the home.

Objective

This study seeks to characterize the nature and overlap of concurrent IPV and caregiver-perpetrated VAC in families across three African contexts.

Participants and setting

A sample of adult women and children was obtained from the [study name redacted] Wave 1 (2018–2019), [study name redacted] DRC baseline (2019–2020), and [study name redacted] South Africa Wave 3 (2022–2024) studies.

Methods

Latent class analysis (LCA) distinguished groups of families by nature and overlap of IPV and VAC. Violence was conceptualized as one construct in DRC and South Africa and two constructs in Ethiopia.

Results

Co-occurring IPV and VAC affected 18.3 % of families in South Africa, 34.3 % in Ethiopia, and 56.1 % in DRC. Twenty percent of Ethiopian families, 15.3 % in DRC, and 4.5 % in South Africa, were characterized by emotional IPV alongside both physical and psychological VAC. In Ethiopia, two classes were distinguished by presence of economic abuse related to either women's earnings (4.1 %) or men's earnings (4.3 %). Systematic violence, characterized by overlap of multiple domains of IPV alongside VAC, affected 15.5 % of families in DRC, 8.2 % in South Africa, and 3.2 % in Ethiopia.

Conclusions

Efforts to measure and address IPV and VAC should include emotional and economic IPV, and consider variation of types and intensity across families. More substantial investment in GBV and VAC services are needed to address shared drivers and ensure coordinated response.